Collide
by bon-mot tosser
Summary: Being apart can sometimes bring people closer. Taken place in between the 5 year flash-forward and post-Gossip Girl finale.
1. J

_Author's Note: So, I was thinking about writing this as a separate piece, as moments leading up to "The Godfather," but decided maybe it would be best to write the whole thing over again including these because it just made the most sense. Just in case you're confused, this is the reworked version of "The Godfather," so it will have the same plot and story-line, among some other things worked into it like what happened in the 5 year time gap in the series finale and such. I hope you all enjoy! Also, I'm always interested in having a beta for any of my stories – so if you want to help a struggling artist in New York City to become a better writer in some way (I'm only half kidding), then I would be more than appreciative!_

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters!**

The first time they spoke again was in London.

Blair Waldorf had crossed the Atlantic Ocean for a mission not like the others she had plotted before. This one, she would rather keep to herself. She didn't want to admit to herself that she was struggling with Waldorf Designs, let alone admit it to the rest of the world who still didn't take her seriously in the industry after her infamous first fashion show back in the city the previous year. This mission was actually so embarrassing, she couldn't even find the courage in herself to tell her husband the whole truth about why she was going to London.

_"I just need some inspiration," _she told him. _"I think actually being in the city will be really helpful and London Fashion Week is just around the corner."_

She even suggested that he come with her. That it would be like the honeymoon they never got to have. Chuck said it ridiculous that she would even _think _about something like that when he had the Empire to take care of after the death of his father. He whined for a few days, telling her that he needed her by his side at all time – that she was her only support system he had now, but after a lot of convincing on her part, he reluctantly let her go.

"If this is some sick joke, then I should give you more credit because you're more twisted than I thought," the long-haired blonde answered her old high school frenemy.

Blair kept herself from rolling her eyes. She was going to have to play nice if she was going to get Little Jenny Humphrey to help her. "And why would I joke about something like this? This is for my company, it's not just some elementary scheme to get revenge on the woman who fucked my boyfriend when I was a teenager."

Jenny sat in silence for a while. She didn't know if she could truly trust this girl. She couldn't back in her Constance days, she couldn't when she was exiled off to Hudson, and even after she moved to London she saw what happened with her brother. She even posted one or two things about them on Gossip Girl after Dan handed off the website to her.

"I don't know, Blair..."

"Come on. Think about it. Your own line at a world-famous designer instead of, who do you design for now? These cheap little boutiques that probably give you little to no money for doing all the work." Blair could see that Jenny was slowly cracking for the offer by the smile that she was attempting to hold back. She knew that Jenny only needed a little more push before accepting the offer. "I mean, I can see it now. Little J for Waldorf Designs."

"J."

Blair gave Jenny a confused look.

"J for Waldorf Designs," she corrected and Blair knew it was her way of accepting.

Blair didn't hold back _her_ smile. "Whatever you want."

It made Jenny suspicious that Blair was acting this way. She would never in a million years imagine Blair Waldorf telling her, Little Jenny Humphrey, that she could have _whatever she wanted,_ but she took it anyway. This was a major offer and if all went well, Jenny wouldn't even have to waste time in a college, studying for subjects she cared nothing about. It would be like what happened her sophomore year at Constance all over again.

"Vogue UK is letting us hold our meeting in their building tomorrow, so make sure you're there at 5AM sharp." If it weren't inevitable, Blair was back to her boss bitch ways after getting what she wanted.

Surprisingly, Jenny didn't mind for now. It was an opportunity she couldn't miss out on... Even if it was given by the one and only Blair Waldorf.

"Whatever you want," Jenny echoed, knowing it was exactly what Blair wanted to hear.

After months of hard work, exchanging ideas, and traveling from London to New York City every few weeks, London Fashion Week was a success for Waldorf Designs and the debut of J for Waldorf was highly rated as "the freshest thing Waldorf has come up with for years" and not even the awkwardness of Jenny having to sit between Dan and Blair during the show could bring the high of the moment down.

"What are you even doing here, Humphrey?" she asked him during the Waldorf Designs after party. She ignored the looks she was getting from Jenny, Eric, and Rufus when they spotted the two of them actually conversing. Couldn't one non-friend talk to another non-friend without it being strange?

"I can't be here to support my own sister's fashion show?" he asked her, annoyed with even the question.

He had a point, but she shrugged anyway. "I thought that you would be off with Serena in LA right now."

"I thought that you would be off at The Empire with Chuck right now," he challenged. When she didn't say anything and the silence between them got too much, he lightened the mood up again with good news. "She's working on her film in LA and I'm here to work on mine," he admitted.

She raised her eyebrow at him. "You're going to be an actor? You know, in all honesty, I didn't think you were good enough to get the lead in The Age of Innocence back in high school. I was just too nice to say anything."

He laughed at the statement. Blair Waldorf using "I" and "nice" in the same sentence was more than ironic. No, he was not going to be an actor like his beautiful blonde counterpart, though it was a funny thought. After all, he did fool the Upper East Side for over nine years.

"You know, I'm surprised you even remembered that, but I have to disagree with you. I thought we did make a pretty good Ellen and Archer. You probably also know what they say about life imitating art," he winked.

Blair groaned. She did _not _want to think about _that _right now, although with Humphrey relentlessly pining after her, she wasn't surprised that all he wanted to talk about was the few weeks they were together. "You do remember that Newland Archer does end up with May Wellend in the end, right?"

He chuckled again. He almost forgot how funny she was. "It was probably for the best."

She gasped and smacked him on his arm.

"Ow!"

"Do _not _disrespect Edith Wharton. That is just blasphemy!"

He opened his mouth to continue their long-awaited banter, but was interrupted by Rufus. He hoped Blair didn't notice his face fall.

"Dan, I think I'm going to head back to the hotel now. I have an early flight tomorrow," his father informed him before turning to Blair. "Great show tonight, Blair. You and Jenny did a terrific job... and," Rufus leaned in closer so that nobody else could hear what he was about to say, "thank you for patching things up with her."

She smiled authentically and squeezed his hand before responding with "It was my pleasure."

Dan gave the exchange a strange look and cleared his throat. "Actually, dad, I'm getting pretty tired anyway so I'll take you back to the hotel and-"

"No, Dan, you really don't have to-"

"Trust me. British public transportation is worse than the MTA." Rufus doesn't protest after this. Dan looked back to the brunette. "It was nice catching up with you, Blair."

She acknowledged this with a smile. "We should do it again sometime. Maybe when we're both back in the city?"

He nodded hesitantly, shoving Rufus a little bit harder to hurry up and move along when he raised his eyebrows at Blair's invitation to him. He doesn't want his father to think much of the question because he's sure that once they both really are back in the city, Blair will pretend she had never even asked. He remembered the last time he asked his father for advice on Blair and that only ended up in him writing a whole book about her.

But that doesn't stop that from keeping him up at night. Was he happy with his choices? As happy as he could ever think of being at this point of his life. He had Serena van der Woodsen, who was literally the epitome of his dreams ever since his freshman year of high school and he couldn't ask for more. Blair was with Chuck who was her epic love and in the back of his mind, he always knew she would go back to him. So why was Blair Waldorf the reason he couldn't get any sleep? He didn't know and he didn't want to think any more of the subject to find out.

Again, Dan didn't think Blair really meant what she said about them hanging out again. He _really_ didn't think Blair wanted to hang out only two days after their first time speaking again. And he _sure as hell_ didn't think she would go to Jenny and Eric's apartment, looking for him, but she did and he ignored the looks those two of his siblings were giving him. The looks that wondered why in the world Dan and Blair were on speaking terms again.

"What are you doing here, Waldorf?" he asked in the same fashion she asked him back at the fashion show.

She ignored the question. "Let's go for coffee."

"I'm sorry... Are we _friends_?" He knew he was going to coffee with her anyway and she knew it too, but it didn't stop him from teasing her with a question once posed.

He could tell she remembered by the way she laughed.

"Of course not," she replied in the same way he did. "Let's go for coffee, Humphreak."

"Humphreak," he repeated. "classic," he commented on the nickname as if it were a term of endearment.

He grabbed his coat from the stool at the kitchen counter and left. The both of them ignored the shocked and confused stares that were coming from the living room by the two of whom watched the whole scene behind them. They didn't understand. Dan and Blair probably didn't even understand.

The two New Yorkers walked around the London streets with such ease and it surprised Blair how much he knew about Europe now. Apparently he did a lot of traveling this past year because it helped him write while Serena was working on some romantic comedy for her first appearance as an actress. Everyone knew it was bound to happen someday. As much as she denied it and told people that she wanted to be behind the scenes for once, Serena loved the attention.

Blair was happy for her. Serena was finally doing her own thing and she felt the distance between them was actually allowing them to grow closer. To love each other in a healthy way instead of constantly trying to one up the other, although Blair did feel like she still wasn't being the shining star she should be, running Waldorf designs. She was constantly living under the pressure of being in her mother's shadow and she knew herself that she could never live up to the expectations. Even Jenny Humphrey did better than her, but she knew she couldn't give the company back to her mother. It would be even more humiliating.

"You also said you were working on a film," she brought up, after talking about both of their significant others.

He nodded. "Yes, you remember what was supposed to be my second novel."

"Inside Out." She couldn't help but feel slight anger about how she was painted in that particularly piece of work.

He could tell by the tone in her voice. "Yes, Inside Out. It got picked up for a movie last year in the midst of all of that..." he didn't know what he wanted to call it.

"Congratulations," she said finally.

It was a big deal and it was obvious that Dan was doing well as a writer now. She decided it wasn't that bad, after all, she was actually once again the muse for his writing – the main character (under her real name this time.) It also didn't hurt once she learned that Rachel Bilson from the OC was cast as Blair Waldorf.

"I came here early because of Jenny's line at the fashion show, but I was coming here anyway for the movie. They're playing it in the BFI Film Festival next weekend. Serena's flying in for the premiere. You're more than welcome to join us."

She smiled. "Thanks, but I'm heading back home in a couple of days. It's about to be Chuck and my first year anniversary."

"Congratulations." He tried to tell himself it didn't hurt, but... it still stung a little. "Maybe we can all have lunch when Serena and I get back on the twenty first."

It was an awkward proposal. The chaos that had happened between all of them was in the not so distant past, but Blair felt good about this. Maybe the best way to move on from the craziness that happened the previous year was to put their best foot forward.

Blair nodded. "That would be great."

Chuck didn't agree with having dinner with Humdrum Humphrey and Serena had immediately flown back to LA to continue filming for her movie, leaving Dan to believe he had a date with pizza and Netflix. When he got settled down onto the couch, the door rang followed it being immediately opened.

"Where's Serena?" Blair asked, stepping into the empty townhouse. It didn't look like they were expecting any guests.

When he didn't see Chuck follow behind her, he knew it was going to be an awkward time. "Back in LA. She didn't call you?"

"No," she shrugged, "we actually don't talk much. I thought tonight would be the night we would catch up."

He nodded. "Well, we can always reschedule-"

The look on Blair's face didn't make it seem like she wanted to reschedule. It seemed like she didn't really want to go home. He could ask her what was bothering her, if there was something going on at home, but he didn't want to be _that _ex-boyfriend.

"Or you can watch a movie with me. I ordered gourmet," he pointed to the pizza.

Without another word, Blair took off her coat and made herself comfortable on the couch.

"Do you want wine?" he asked, getting glasses from the kitchen.

"No, water is fine, thank you." she called from the living room. "Like Crazy?" she read off of the screen.

He nodded and took a seat on the opposite end of the couch, leaving the popcorn he made to be the barrier between them. "It was in the Sundance Film Festival two years ago. It got some good reviews, but I'm a skeptic when it comes to these romantic movies."

"You liked Breakfast at Tiffany's," she recalled, "and The Philadelphia Story, and-"

"Those are classics."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't be so biased."

It was a joke how ironic – borderline hypocritical – some of the things Blair said was and she was aware of that. It made him laugh. "Because your favorite movie is A Walk To Remember?"

"Yes, Jessica Alba is my favorite actress," she went along.

Dan blinked before bursting out laughing.

"What?!"

"Mandy Moore," he amended before laughing again.

She watched him laugh, not knowing what to do. "Dear God, I think he's gone mad."

He fanned himself, blinking away the tears from laughing so hard. "Mandy Moore is the actress in A Walk To Remember. Not Jessica Alba."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, who cares? Let's just watch the damn movie!" Blair grabbed the remote control and pressed play.

The mood shifted from humorous to serious in all two seconds from the tone of the movie and naturally Blair had to comment that of course Dan would pick a movie in which the male love interest was a writer.

"I didn't know!" he held his hands up defensively.

"Sure," she countered, half-assed, not wanting to argue anymore because she was actually getting into in the movie.

He couldn't help but notice the girl's sudden interest in the movie, but it intrigued him to watch more intently for if Blair Waldorf thought it was worth watching, there had to be some quality to it. There was one scene that was exceptionally captivating. The two characters sat in the bed and the male lead lets the female read his writing journal – something Dan wouldn't think of letting anybody do.

"_I thought I understood it,_" the woman, Anna read. "_that I could grasp it. But I didn't, not really. Only the smudgeness of it; the pink-slippered, all-containered, semi-precious eagerness of it. I didn't realize it would sometimes be more than whole, that the wholeness was rather a luxurious idea. Because it's the halves that halve you in half. I didn't know, don't know, about the in-between bits; the gory bits of you, and the gory bits of me.*" _

Blair looks at Dan after she reads this and he looks back at her. "That sounds like something you would write."

"It's quite good."

"It's corny like you."

He knows she doesn't mean it so he doesn't argue and end up not speaking for the rest of the movie. It ends up being one of those endings that doesn't leave you feeling happy and giddy inside, but it wasn't so unsatisfying either.

"I can't say I'm converted into a romantic movie kind of guy, but that was pretty good," he finally comments after he turns off the TV.

"That was depressing," Blair voices, getting up to wipe off the kernels of popcorn from her skirt.

Dan didn't agree. "It was realistic."

"In whose world? This is not Roman Holiday! They loved each other. They didn't have to stay apart and when they finally got together, they weren't happy at all. After being apart for so unnecessarily long, they should be ecstatic that they can be together." Blair was obviously worked up after watching the movie and now up for arguing.

He chuckled. "Not every couple is you and Chuck. And even you two are miserable sometimes." A lot of the time. Most of the time, he wanted to add.

Her face changed back to how it was when she walked into his home. She looked sad again.

"Are you okay, Blair? I didn't mean-"

Blair didn't want to talk about that though. Not to Humphrey. Maybe a marriage counselor or her mother or even to Dorota, but not to Humphrey. Not after what she put him through. "Can I tell you a secret, Humphrey?"

"Humphreak," he corrected to make her laugh and it works.

"I'm sorry I called you that and much, much worse names last year."

"It doesn't matter," he dismissed. "Now tell me." Dan pats the couch she that she'll take a seat again.

She does sit down again before speaking. "I got some news today which might be the reason why Chuck was even more unenthusiastic about coming here to have dinner with you and Serena, but I came anyway to tell Serena the news because I thought she should be the first to know."

Oh, God, were they getting a divorce?

"I'm pregnant."

Dan opened his mouth to say something, but for a minute words couldn't come out. No '_really? That's great!' _No '_congratulations!' _No '_I'm happy for you and Chuck.' _Nothing at all.

She gulped the lump in her throat. It was the second time the words escaped her mouth and just another speechless reaction.

"I told Chuck this morning. I-I don't think he wants to have a baby yet. I don't think he thinks we're ready and I mean, I can't blame him. After all that happened last year with his father and his company and Louis and-"

Dan stopped her with a hug and it thankfully stopped the tears that were about to roll down her eyes. "I'm so happy for you and Chuck. Congratulations," he tells her. If only to make her feel better.

"Do you mean it?"

He nodded. "Of course. You and Chuck have a weird way of showing your love, but I just know that little baby in your stomach will get all of it."

"Thank you, Dan."

*Like Crazy

_Please leave reviews below with your comments, questions, and suggestions. I really want to reply to each of you personally, and it would be so much easier if you would sign in so you're not leaving the reviews as "guests" or if you could leave your Tumblr URL or something below! If not, that's fine too, because I still read each review and take everything into consideration. Thank you :)_


	2. Henry

_I know, I know. This took a long time and it's still quite a short chapter. I'm sorry. I try so hard to write more, but I suppose it's just not my style and why try to force it right? I'm still looking for a beta, though, but I suppose with the amount of times I've asked and the amount of responses I've gotten (0), I'll never get one. Haha, oh well. I hope you enjoy my writing anyway! I still miss Dair. So much._

**Disclaimer: Can I own these characters? Pretty please?**

The second time Dan and Blair had stopped speaking was for a reason neither of them really knew. Dan had arrangements in his own life and Blair did not have the right to question whether or not he should be doing whatever he was doing.

Blair was coming home from Serena and Dan's and she didn't expect Chuck to be home when she got back. He usually wasn't when she woke up and with Waldorf Designs, it wasn't like she awoke late in the afternoon.

She jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Where did you go last night?" Chuck asked Blair and he did not look the least bit happy. He knew that he didn't react well to the bomb that she dropped last night, but it didn't give her the right to leave without notice.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "I had dinner with our friends," she replied. She didn't understand why he only cared sometimes and it was never the times she wanted him to. "You were invited, but I suppose you can't even stand to look at the woman who is bearing your child."

He grabbed Blair by the arms and she flinched, not being able to keep her strong facade when he touched her this way. "I thought you were being safe."

She pulled away from him. "_We _were," she emphasizes, making sure he knows that this is not only her fault. "I take my pills everyday, but birth control can only do so much. While it's 98% effective, there's still that 2% chance that we could get pregnant. Maybe if you used a condom like I told you, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

He grimaced and it made Blair want to cry. Most new couples would be ecstatic with the news and it killed her to know that he wasn't.

What happened when Chuck was willing to take care of Louis' child? Now that they were married, his mind suddenly changed about having a child with her? What? Was he happy to know that she lost the baby after the car accident? She wasn't sure that she was ready for the whole truth of that answer just yet.

Blair exited the room, leaving Chuck alone once again and texted Dan who was still there for her even after all of the bullshit they put each other through. Somehow it didn't surprise her that he was the one who was by her side in all of this.

_"Free for Brunch?" _

She hoped he would be. She needed someone. Anyone.

She was hesitant to text him without even being gone from his sight for more than two hours. She thought she might be imposing, but texted him anyway, seeing as how they are almost back to their "acquaintances" stage.

Her phone beeped after a few seconds and it made her smile. He was there for her. And she knew that he always would be.

_"Cafe D'Alsace at 2?"_

She smiled. Why did she ever stop talking to him again?

Oh yeah, he slept with Serena.

_"See you there," _she relplied.

Dan was at Cafe D'Alsace early because he wanted to keep himself from writing. He couldn't write. Not when he was feeling like this. And there was only one way he knew how to keep himself distracted. He sat in the bar area and drank a shot of whiskey, looking towards the door every time he heard it open to see if Blair had arrived when a cute redhead came in. She felt his eyes on her and smiled his way.

He wasn't usually this forward with things like these; it was usually the other way around and usually during crowded Hollywood bashes, movie screenings, or book parties because the ladies there knew him as Dan Humphrey, the writer for Inside and Inside Out. But this was the Upper East Side where people still knew him as Lonely Boy.

He shouldn't have been surprised when the redhead accepted the drink he sent her with the note attached _"meet me at the restrooms?"_

And he also shouldn't have been surprised when after they had finished she asked him "_you're Serena van der Woodsen's boyfriend right? Gossip Girl?"_

He nodded lazily as he headed back to the restaurant. That was the only annoying part in living in the Upper East Side. They still remembered all of that shit over everything else he had accomplished in his life. His reputation as Lonely Boy or Gossip Girl or Serena's boyfriend would never go away and that made him want to move away somewhere far where that high school stuff was irrelevant. He loved London and Paris and Rome, but he knew he had to stay. Only for Serena.

"Humphrey, you're ten minutes late," Blair stood in front of him angrily with arms crossed.

If she hadn't spoken, he would have walked right into the small brunette.

"Blair, I'm so sorry," he tried to regain his composure as he apologized, but Blair could see right away what was going on when the redhead, whose name Dan can't remember, walked past them but stopped to say bye to Dan with a blush.

"I don't even want to know." Blair had the most disgusted look on her face when she turned around and headed for the table, but still right when they sat down her face twisted in confusion. "What was that, Humphrey? And if you don't give me the truth right now I am going to call Serena right now-"

Dan grabbed Blair's hand as soon as she took her phone out of her purse. She grabbed her hand right away, not wanting to be touched like that and he apologized without words, understanding right why he shouldn't have done that. She brushed it off.

"You don't even talk to Serena anymore." Not that it mattered to him if she called.

"That won't stop me from talking to her now," she argued.

He shrugged then. "Okay then. Call."

She raised her eyebrows. "Seriously?"

He nodded.

It annoyed her to no end that he was okay with this. "I can see it now on The Spectator. Manhattan's It Girl Cheated On. Again. It wouldn't be the first time, Humphrey."

Dan laughed because he didn't know why Blair was being so angry about this. He realized over the years that the two "best friends" could care less about each other's feelings. "I have never cheated on my girlfriend."

Blair scoffed. "What about when you slept with that disgusting creep of a teacher Rachel Carr or when you had sex with Vanessa right in front of Olivia Banks and _let us not forget _last summer when you and I-"

"That's enough, Blair. That's enough!" He didn't want to relive last summer, he wanted to live in this summer. Drama free. "And if you want to be fair for once, I wasn't with Serena when I slept with Rachel, I wasn't with you when I slept with Serena, and what happened with Vanessa and Olivia is called a threesome."

The last part of the sentence made Blair laugh so she ignored the rest. She wanted to forget last summer too already.

"Serena knows, by the way," he added after they ordered their meals.

Blair pecked her neck forward as if she hadn't heard correctly. "Serena knows... about you having sex with some," Blair looked at the table the redhead was sitting at and she saw her gazing at Dan from afar and that grossed her out even moreso. "6 redhead?"

"6?"

"If I'm being generous."

He laughed. It you would compare any female to Blair or Serena would, they would all surely be seen as sixes.

He shook his head before answering. "Well, she doesn't know specifically about her-"

"I'm pretty sure _you _don't even know specifically about... what was her name again?" she asked, referring to the girl he had just had sex with.

"Uh..."

That gave her her answer.

"Anyway," he continued. "Serena and I have an open relationship in the literal term. We're free to see or have sex with anyone we want to. It works since we're not together a lot anymore with her always in LA and me in New York-"

"Why don't you just move to LA with her?" Blair interrupted him for the upteenth time that day.

"Too phony for me," he admitted.

"Ok, JD Salinger." She didn't want to agree with him that it _was_ true that LA was phony... that Serena practically fit right in.

He laughed again. "It works for the both of us this way."

"B-but, you two said you loved each other. She picked you when everyone told her not to-"

"That was just mostly you."

She ignored that. "She picked you even after she knew you cyber stalked her for half of her life-"

"That wasn't all just me."

She ignored that too. "And you even picked her. You said she was the love of her life and that she was always the one."

He didn't know what to say about that one. He didn't know she knew about that.

"Serena told me," she confessed. She didn't want to also tell him that was the reason for their most recent fall out. Before Dan could respond, she kept going, "I mean if two people love each other that much, then why would you even _want _to see or sleep with other people?"

After that conversation, they talked about other things. Mostly Gossip Girl. He told her that although he started the website as an aspiring writer and social climber with a horny agenda, he wasn't the only one who was running Gossip Girl.

Eric ran it for a while with the help of Jonathan (which is why _his _phone was the one who went off when they tried to find Gossip Girl at the graduation party) because Dan was too busy with SATs.

Jenny had access to the website which she always used for social climbing purposes or to get Nate to fall in love with her.

Vanessa had access and used it whenever she wanted a Upper East Side takedown.

And he gave the password to Georgina after seeing how good she was at getting information on people.

Of course, it was all much easier with the tips of every single person in the city, minus the ever so moral Nathaniel Archibald.

When they said their goodbyes, they didn't leave on bad terms. Blair just never bothered to text Dan again and Dan tried to reach her a couple of times, but it would just reach voicemail. He wondered if he had done something wrong, but just thought that it was Blair being Blair. She was probably too busy with work or her baby. She would come around when she needed him and he would be there for her.

In actuality, Blair was confused. She didn't know why it bugged her so much that Dan was in an open relationship or that the "was he Gossip Girl when" questions came to her mind. She didn't even know why she was thinking about him so much anyways when she should be focusing on her pregnancy.

But it wasn't before long they saw each other again. It was the first time everyone was together again since Blair and Louis' wedding and they gathered at the New York Presbyterian Hospital's waiting room. The Hospital wasn't used to having around twenty people wait for a baby to come, but a whole floor was rented for baby Bass. With the enemies Chuck has garnered from owning Bass Industries, he was too afraid that something would happen.

But the baby had come safely and soundly. Blair was happy and even Chuck couldn't help but be happy for the baby he and his wife brought into the world. The couple knew it was going to be a boy and although Blair was toying around with the names of the three men who meant the most to her, she still didn't know what to call him.

The nurse came back into the room after washing the baby and handed him over to Blair.

"What are you going to call him?"

Blair wanted to wait until maybe she could get some sleep and then name him. She wanted the perfect name for her perfect son.

It was a surprise when Chuck spoke.

"Henry."

The nurse smiled. "Beautiful."

Much to Blair's dismay, she couldn't sleep. She tried to hide her discomfort when everybody came in to look at the baby, but there were two reactions she couldn't forget. It was when it was Serena and Dan's turn to come look at the newborn and Chuck beamed while telling the couple his name.

They knew and it made it all the more embarrassing.

Luckily, Serena came back after about an hour of everyone leaving. She somehow persuaded the nurses to let her come see the new mother, but she never had a problem persuading anybody before so Blair shouldn't have been surprised.

"Hey, B," Serena knocked on the door before coming in. "How are you feeling?"

They both felt awkward.

"How did you know I'd be awake?" is all Blair asked.

Serena laughed. Of course Blair would know how to keep being a bitch after going through the most beautiful process of life. "You're still my best friend, remember?"

"I try not to."

"Come on, B. I'm here. For you."

Blair rolled in her bed to look at Serena. "It didn't seem that way after we last saw each other."

"Blair, I was there so don't try to deny it."

The last time Serena and Blair really spoke, it was after all the drama had happened and Blair and Chuck were finally married. The allegations against Chuck and Blair were finalized and they were miraculously off the hook, but she couldn't get the picture of Bart Bass falling off the Empire Hotel out of her mind and it was making her go out of her mind.

_"We **killed **your father, Chuck."_

He hit her and she went straight to Serena's.

After crying on Serena's lap for two hours, she choked something out that would change the girl's friendship from then on. They had said some things to each other that were far worse and had gotten over it, but they didn't know if they could get past this one.

_ "I think I've made the wrong choice, S," Blair said through her tears._

_ Serena didn't know what to say and she certainly didn't want to think what she was thinking. "What do you mean Blair?"_

_ "I-I had someone who loved me unconditionally, treated me right, and wanted to be with me everyday. And I just through it away," Blair sobbed._

_ Serena knew who Blair was talking about, but she didn't want to believe it. She couldn't believe it. Not when the last conversation they had was about how Serena wouldn't end up with some powerless outsider._

_ "I don't know what you're talking about."_

_ "Dan."_

_ Serena automatically stood up at the sound of her boyfriend's name, forcing Blair to sit up. "What did you say, Blair?"_

_ "Dan would never do this to me. H-he loved me and-"_

_ "Dan also said that **I **was always the one, Blair. He also slept with me after two seconds of seeing you at the Empire **choosing Chuck **so I'm sorry if I don't seem sympathetic towards you right now because you're the one chose the abuser."_

"Why are you even here, Serena?" she rolled back around, not wanting to look at the blonde again.

Serena stepped closer to Blair, putting her hand on Blair's shoulder. "I think you need to leave Chuck."

Blair sat up, ignoring the pain between her legs. She needed more morphine. "Why would you even say something like that?"

"Don't try to dismiss the fact that he named your son Henry."

"So what?" Blair wasn't good at playing naïve.

Serena leaned her head in that way she lets you know she's not buying it. "That's the name he used in Paris."

"Je ne sais pas de quoi tu parles." It was Blair's way of being immature when she started speaking in French.

"Je sais que tu sais, Blair," Serena spoke back. "Il pense d'Eva."

_I hope you all enjoyed that chapter because I had fun writing it! The translations to the French is:_

_ "I don't know what you're talking about." It was Blair's way of being immature when she started speaking in French._

_ "I know that you know," Serena spoke back. "He's thinking of Eva."_

_ I hope all of that grammar was correct. I speak french fluently, but I don't really practice writing a lot so let me know if that was right! I also hate using Google Translate because it's usually not the best. Anyway, please leave reviews and let me know what you think down below!_


	3. The Seed of Eva

_Author's Note: New chapter! Yay! Thank you to frenchyy and windsword14 for being my betas for this story. You're both amazing and I'm so glad that I'm working with the both of you._

_So, we're also getting closer to where "The Godfather" started so I know a lot of you will be happy with that because you really wanted me to continue with that and I will. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter :)_

It wasn't a surprise when Serena hadn't heard from Blair after visiting her the night following Henry's birth and it wasn't a surprise when Blair had begun to ignore everybody outside of her little family. She automatically said "no" when Chuck asked her if Nate could be Henry's godfather and told him that their epic love should be enough for the child. It wasn't a surprise when Chuck smiled at that statement and agreed. Things were good – really good – for a while, but little by little the seed of Eva was planted in her mind. Every time Blair heard her own child's name, her heart would fill with envy and disgust and she hated herself for it. It wasn't a surprise when Henry started becoming more of Chuck's son than _their _son and started dressing in three piece suits and it definitely wasn't a surprise when his first word was "dada." Blair put up with it for a year, tried to elbow her way into her son's life but the fact that he would say "I'm Henry Bass" more than "I love you" could only make her more prone to drown herself in work rather than spend time with her family. Chuck acted as if nothing were wrong and would take care of his son after getting home from work, while during their day, Henry would be at Dorota's apartment. Blair begged Dorota to be her full-time house assistant like the old times, but the old woman had to refuse because she wanted to focus on her own family. It made Blair jealous that even her own maid was able to have a normal family and Blair knew it was probably because of the "pure, simple love" Dorota always wished for her because she had it herself. But the worst part of the whole thing was that it wasn't surprising – it didn't **surprise** anybody that Blair had ended up this way. She was the epitome of the Upper East Side from the moment she was born and she was sure she would be it until the moment she died – faults, dysfunctional family, lies and all.

What_ was_ surprising was when Dan Humphrey called her that afternoon and asked her if she was free for lunch. Because she was too busy trying to make her family a normal one for the first year of Henry's life and didn't want to speak to Serena as she knew their conversations would only end with her trying to convince Blair to leave Chuck, she hadn't seen the old Brooklynite in a while. It was a bit ironic how Blair had been the one telling Serena to leave Dan a few years ago. She found out through Nate one day that Dan and Serena had finally begun to start only seeing each other and Blair concluded it was because Serena could never bear to see Dan with another woman even if she was with another man, but that was just narcissistic Serena van der Woodsen for you.

"Blair Waldorf," he greeted with a smile when the brunette had finally arrived. He was seated in the same table at Cafe D'Alsace they met at for lunch about a year and a half ago. He stood up when she got closer to the table and he gave her a big hug. It was strange for them to share that kind of closeness, but it was a good strange. "How have you been? How's little Henry?"

She smiled at the comfort of having a conversation with her old intellectual counterpart and took the seat across from him. "Everything's fine. Henry's doing quite well in school, which I'm relieved about because he takes after his father in most things, but I definitely wanted him to take after me academically."

Dan laughed at the joke and agreed. He didn't want to know how Blair would react to her child not doing well in school. "That's great, I'm happy for you. You seem like the perfect Upper East Side family, but everyone would expect that from Chuck and Blair."

Blair didn't know how Dan didn't cringe at his own words because she sure as hell wanted to. She faked a smile and hoped that it passed for real and took a sip of the coffee Dan had taken the liberty to order for her. It was perfect. One sugar, no cream – just how she liked it. "How is everything with you? I hear you and Serena finally threw that ridiculous idea of a polygamous relationship out of the window."

He laughed again and nodded. "Life is pretty amazing and you heard right. That's actually why I called you here today."

Blair gulped. She didn't know why that made her so nervous.

"I-I'm so happy with Serena," he gushed and it made Blair's stomach turn.

It wasn't just the fact that it was Humphrey, her ex-boyfriend, and Serena, her old best friend, that made her want to vomit. It was because she hated the idea that two people could be happier and more in love than Chuck and Blair. _They _were supposed to be the ones with the best relationship now that they were finally together. They were the epic romance of the Upper East Side. Not this screwed up version of Romeo and Juliet, which Blair never thought was a good love story.

Blair didn't know what to say to that and as she looked at Dan, he was looking up at the ceiling with a smile because he didn't know exactly how to put it into words either.

"I'm going to ask her to marry me," he finally announced, looking Blair straight in the eye and she swore she was going to puke all over the table. When he saw her reaction, his face fell. "Blair, are you okay?"

There were actual tears forming in her eyes from trying not to regurgitate the coffee and whatever else she ate that morning. "I'm so happy for you," she choked out.

He bought it. Dan was so up his own ass that he bought Blair's lie and reached into his coat pocket for a delicate white box, etched in black letters: CHANEL.

It made Blair even sicker.

"Tonight. We're going to have dinner tonight because she's leaving for California again tomorrow morning and I want everybody on both coasts to know that she's mine."

The already pale girl got even paler at this. She had to drink her whole wine glass full of water to get herself together. She didn't understand why this made her feel so repulsed. She wanted to be happy for the couple so badly. It was her two best friends who were so in love with each other – she was practically obliged to be happy for them. She took two deep breaths and was finally able to speak. "It's perfect. You two are... perfect."

Dan's smile got even bigger at the compliment. Never in a million years would he expect those words to come from Blair's mouth, but he decided that people really do change and mature and he was happy that Blair was finally happy and that he was finally happy. In actuality, the man never thought that he would be over her. Dan never imagined that he would be fully happy without Blair by her side. From the second he fell for her at W, he knew it was it. He was forever in love with Blair Waldorf. After they broke up and got back together with Serena, he felt like it was for the best and that it was actually possible to move on, but he knew that there would always be a part of his heard reserved for Blair. The part that recognized the sole truth that she would always be his soul mate. But if she was happy, there was no way he couldn't be. And maybe Serena really was his destiny after all. It confused him, but he was sure that things happened for a reason and that he would be able to love them both in different ways.

Blair had to be happy in one way. Dan had called her to pretty much ask for her blessing and that meant something. It meant that he still cared for her opinion and that made her happy. All she wanted for him was to be happy. Even when she had a short stage of hating him once again and treating him like she did in high school, she still wanted him to be happy. She should have been happy that he found happiness without her. She _was _happy that he had because it was always Chuck for her. She just didn't expect Dan to forget about her so easily.

Blair wasn't surprised when she got a phone call that night from Serena and she wasn't surprised when Serena couldn't tell that Blair was blatantly lying when she was pretending to be surprised that Dan had proposed that night.

"The ring is so beautiful. _Chanel_. How perfect is that?" Serena glowed.

Of course Dan paid enough attention to know that Chanel was the perfect wedding ring for her. Dan remembered everything about Serena. It reminded Blair how Harry Winston wasn't her first choice.

Although Blair still felt a bit sick from the news that afternoon, she couldn't keep herself from genuinely smiling at the blonde's voice. She really was happy and she was going to made Dan happy too. "It's totally you, Serena."

"I know, I know, Blair. We're thinking about both flying out to California tomorrow so on my day off we could take a short trip to Vegas and-"

"No!" Blair shouted. No, they couldn't get married like that.

Serena giggled because Dan started to kiss her neck. "Stop, Da- wait, why? We love each other. We want to get married right now!"

Blair couldn't allow a wedding like that. Not for them. She remembered the wedding with Chuck and how she secretly did want a huge, princess wedding again - one that actually meant something - but was too eager to get married right away because she didn't want Chuck to change his mind about the marriage. She didn't want that for her friends. "You don't want something like that. You're in the public eye. Even more than usual now that you're a movie star and you just got out of your many relationships with your director, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reyn-"

"Okay, you've made your point. But who cares what they think? I love Dan and-"

"I know, Serena, I know. But I care for both of your reputations and I think that you should wait. I mean, let the press die down, be happy with each other first and enjoy your engagement, find the perfect wedding dress..."

"That does sound nice," Serena admitted.

"And you can have a small wedding here in New York. It's really both of your homes. You can even have it here in my town house!" Blair didn't know why she blurted out the last part. She was just getting so caught up in her own story.

Serena stayed quiet for a couple of seconds before asking, "Really?"

"Yeah," Blair breathed out. "Yes, of course."

"Oh, I'm so happy, Blair. I know we haven't been close these past years, but it makes me so happy to hear that you're okay with Dan and I getting married. I've really wanted you two to be friends again." Blair stopped to process that sentence. How did she not know that she and Dan had patched things up a while ago? "You know that Dan and I value your opinion so much because we know what you've been through with your marriages and – you know what? You're totally right. We're going to wait and be happy and enjoy each other and our engagement. We'll get married in your town house and you're going to help me find the most beautiful wedding dress and... Blair, you really are my best friend."

*_Don't forget to leave reviews lovelies xoxo_


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